England boss Eddie Jones is set to change Maro Itoje’s position once again ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against South Africa.
The Saracens star arguably had his best game of the month as the Red Rose fought back to draw 25-25 with the All Blacks this past weekend.
However, a return to the back-row looks almost guaranteed after the England boss confirmed he wants three line-out jumpers in his side to face the Springboks.
“We probably need three jumpers against South Africa. It’s going to be a higher kicking game so we will have a look at that,” Jones said. “
We were a bit disappointed early on against New Zealand about the effectiveness of our ruck defence. Ardie Savea we handled pretty well.
“Tom Curry and Sam Simmonds defensively were good and that is the best Test match I’ve seen Billy Vunipola play since 2019.”
Social media reaction:
One fan wrote: “Itoje as a flanker doesn’t do it for me. He’s best at lock. Willis in the back row. Toulouse made a great move there”
“Stop playing Maro Itoje at flanker, and then either Earl or Willis instead and the other on the bench.” commented a second.
A third said: “Itoje needs to play at lock & have proper flanker in, Earl the obvious choice but then its Eddie so no chance!”
Itoje interview:
Itoje said: ““We are happy with the comeback but it feels like we could have done more.
“We didn’t get out of the blocks and left it until the second half where all the pressure was on us to finally be free and play the type of rugby we want to play.
“I’m proud that we stuck in and didn’t go away but we need to play like that for the whole game. Why can’t we?” Giving up two converted tries inside 10 minutes didn’t help, nor an alarming ability to lift the pressure on the opposition by making mistakes or gifting penalties.
“They didn’t do anything that was particularly surprising,” Itoje added. “They are a good team who punish you if you are not accurate. We weren’t accurate and they punished us.
“We have an incredible amount of potential in this team, we just need to unlock it. We are showing it in patches but we need 80 minutes. South Africa will be a great challenge. Strong set-piece, strong kicking game, strong defence.
“But it’s about what we do. Hopefully we’ll come back and play with the energy which we ended this game.”
Maro Itoje facts:
- He doesn’t enjoy drinking beer
- He likes to collect art in his spare time
- As a schoolboy, Itoje played several sports including basketball, football, rugby and athletics, representing England at U17 level in shot put
- Maro got a rugby scholarship to London Harrow school when he was 11. He then studied for a Politics degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Bloomsbury, London at the same time as starting his rugby career
- He is also the cousin of Bath’s loosehead-prop Beno Obano
- The lock was born Oghenemaro Miles Itoje in Camden, London on 28 October 1994 to Nigerian parents
“F***ing Nightmare” – Maro Itoje Names The Toughest Opponent He Has Ever Faced
England, Lions and Saracens lock Maro Itoje doesn’t like to praise players he comes up against
When asked to name his toughest opponent by The Times he was less than open with his response.
“Good question,” he replied. “The other second row, outside of the locks in England, that I hold in the highest regard is probably … I don’t actually like complimenting people in my position to be honest.
“I don’t even want to give them the compliment. I guess we’ll leave it at that.”
However, during other interviews the 26-year-old has given a bit of an inside look into some of his opponents.
#3. Charles Piutau
Itoje said: ”For me it’s always those quick guys you can’t quite get a hold of that give me the most trouble for sure. I’m not sure if I’ve played him this year but Piutau is a real handful.”
